My previous experiences with Judaism have been limited. Mostly, one of my best friends from high school converted when he went to college, and I was the best man at his Jewish wedding (which was quite lovely, by the way) in 2003.
Isaac M. Wise Temple is a Reform Jewish Temple. I had no idea what that meant, so I offer this explanation from Jewish Virtual Library:
"We Reform Jews are heirs to a vast body of beliefs and practices embodied in TORAH and the other Jewish sacred writings. We differ from more ritually observant Jews because we recognize that our sacred heritage has evolved and adapted over the centuries and that it must continue to do so. And we also recognize that if Judaism were not capable of evolution, of REFORM, it could not survive."
Based on that explanation, and what I witnessed firsthand, I'm assuming Reform Temples are equivalent to nondenominational Christian churches. More relaxed, less ritualistic, but still holding to the same core beliefs.
If Reform Temples are less ritualistic than other Jewish Temples, I'm not sure I could handle the more conservative option. The service lasted about an hour, and almost the entire sixty minutes was filled with rituals.
Oddly, I didn't mind. In fact, it was actually fairly moving. Christianity is like visiting Boston—old city, lots of history, pretty cool place. But Judaism is like visiting Paris, Rome, or London. People have been practicing Jewish traditions for thousands of years. Since the beginning of recorded human history. Christianity has many beautiful traditions, but we're the new kid on the block. There seemed to be a reverence in Wise Temple that is missing from most Christian churches. Not all, of course. Many Catholic churches have a similar feel, but the atmosphere was somehow different. Maybe the novelty grabbed my attention.
My first mistake was walking into the main room of Wise Temple without picking up a prayer book. Big mistake. The whole service centered on that book. There were prayers and songs and readings and verses, and I was completely lost. The guy next to me kept looking over. I’m sure he was thinking, “Where the mishugina is that guy’s book?”
About fifteen minutes into the service, I decided to walk back out to the lobby and pick up a prayer book. It definitely helped, but half of it was in Hebrew. (And why was the book backwards?) It seemed like almost every person in attendance could recite the Hebrew passages except me, which was fine because they also repeated almost everything in English. Perhaps that is one difference between a Reform service and a traditional Jewish service.
Either way, Stevie likey the English.
This week was Sukkot, which I understood to be a Jewish festival ushering in a season of rejoicing. Not sure if this happens every week, or if it was a special Sukkot experience, but a live band played a lot of music throughout the service. Definitely not a rock concert, but it was pretty lively. Again, some songs were in English, some were in Hebrew, and others were mixed. There wasn’t a “worship time” like in Christian churches. The music was spread throughout the entire service. One song here, another there. Probably ten songs overall.
During Sukkot, I was informed that Jews are supposed to build Sukkahs. This explanation of the Sukkah comes from jewfaq.org:
“In honor of the holiday’s historical significance, we are commanded to dwell in temporary shelters, as our ancestors did in the wilderness. The temporary shelter is referred to as a Sukkah. The commandment to ‘dwell’ in a Sukkah can be fulfilled by simply eating all of one’s meals there; however, if the weather, climate, and one’s health permit, one should spend as much time in the Sukkah as possible, including sleeping in it.”
Wise Temple built a small Sukkah in their main room and a much larger one outside the building:
After the service, people were encouraged to spend some time in the Sukkah. I would have dropped by, but I had Jesus in tow, and I wasn’t sure if the bouncers would let him in. Honestly, I didn’t want to do anything disrespectful. I was even afraid taking a picture would be rude. Maybe it was.
You can read more about Sukkot and the Sukkah at www.jewfaq.org.
The congregation was mostly older and all white. There were approximately one hundred people in attendance, and we gathered in a room that sat three times that. Some men wore Yarmulkes, but most did not.
At one point, we were asked to read a silent prayer from our prayer books. The prayer read, “My God, guard my tongue from evil and my lips from deceit. Help me to be silent in the face of contempt and humble in the presence of all.” After last week, it seemed like a fitting prayer.
The female rabbi (I hope they are called rabbettes) gave a short, but interesting message. She used a dialogical approach, which I have been advocating for in the church for a long time. By dialogical, I mean she basically had a conversation with the congregation. She asked questions, encouraged audience participation, and waited for answers. This interactive approach definitely engages the audience and keeps them more involved than if she lectured us for forty minutes.
She read from Ecclesiastes and then gave a brief history lesson on Jewish festivals. For a newcomer, it was super helpful. I felt like I walked away with a much greater understanding of Sukkot.
Her overall point was that there is a season for everything, and no season is better or more sacred than another. The Sukkah will be taken down soon. Like every season, it is temporary. Autumn has arrived in Cincinnati, but it will soon be winter, then spring, summer, and back to autumn.
Every season of life is similar. There are ups and downs. School, work, retirement. Single, dating, engaged, married. Childless, children, and empty-nesters. Brainstorming, writing, editing, and publishing. I could go on and on.
I believe the best way to live is to embrace and enjoy each stage of life. I also believe people become frustrated when they spend their whole lives impatiently waiting for the next stage.
You’re only in college once, so enjoy it. Stop racing to graduate. Someday, you will be married, and you’ll spend the rest of your life with that person (hopefully). So, for now, enjoy the dating process. Your child will never be five years old again, so make some lasting memories while you can. Think how much better life would be if we could just enjoy the moment.
This was an important slap across the face for me. I was losing steam on the experiment and was already looking forward to 2010’s 52 in 52 experience. That meant I could have easily gone through the motions and wasted the next three months. How sad would that have been?
I had twelve more churches to go, and I wanted to make each one count. Heck, I want to make today count. Stop worrying about tomorrow. Tomorrow has enough worries of its own. Today is life.
And speaking of life, here’s my last point. I loved going to church on Friday evening. It’s the perfect time for a church service. I left work at 4:00, so it’s not like I had to stop doing something exciting to attend. I got to the Temple at 6:15, participated in the service, and was home by 7:30. I still had the rest of my Friday night open, and I could enjoy the whole weekend without worrying about church.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner. It might be time to convert.
Until next time, Shabbat Shalom.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Isaac M. Wise Temple is a Reform Jewish Temple. I had no idea what that meant, so I offer this explanation from Jewish Virtual Library:
"We Reform Jews are heirs to a vast body of beliefs and practices embodied in TORAH and the other Jewish sacred writings. We differ from more ritually observant Jews because we recognize that our sacred heritage has evolved and adapted over the centuries and that it must continue to do so. And we also recognize that if Judaism were not capable of evolution, of REFORM, it could not survive."
Based on that explanation, and what I witnessed firsthand, I'm assuming Reform Temples are equivalent to nondenominational Christian churches. More relaxed, less ritualistic, but still holding to the same core beliefs.
If Reform Temples are less ritualistic than other Jewish Temples, I'm not sure I could handle the more conservative option. The service lasted about an hour, and almost the entire sixty minutes was filled with rituals.
Oddly, I didn't mind. In fact, it was actually fairly moving. Christianity is like visiting Boston—old city, lots of history, pretty cool place. But Judaism is like visiting Paris, Rome, or London. People have been practicing Jewish traditions for thousands of years. Since the beginning of recorded human history. Christianity has many beautiful traditions, but we're the new kid on the block. There seemed to be a reverence in Wise Temple that is missing from most Christian churches. Not all, of course. Many Catholic churches have a similar feel, but the atmosphere was somehow different. Maybe the novelty grabbed my attention.
My first mistake was walking into the main room of Wise Temple without picking up a prayer book. Big mistake. The whole service centered on that book. There were prayers and songs and readings and verses, and I was completely lost. The guy next to me kept looking over. I’m sure he was thinking, “Where the mishugina is that guy’s book?”
About fifteen minutes into the service, I decided to walk back out to the lobby and pick up a prayer book. It definitely helped, but half of it was in Hebrew. (And why was the book backwards?) It seemed like almost every person in attendance could recite the Hebrew passages except me, which was fine because they also repeated almost everything in English. Perhaps that is one difference between a Reform service and a traditional Jewish service.
Either way, Stevie likey the English.
This week was Sukkot, which I understood to be a Jewish festival ushering in a season of rejoicing. Not sure if this happens every week, or if it was a special Sukkot experience, but a live band played a lot of music throughout the service. Definitely not a rock concert, but it was pretty lively. Again, some songs were in English, some were in Hebrew, and others were mixed. There wasn’t a “worship time” like in Christian churches. The music was spread throughout the entire service. One song here, another there. Probably ten songs overall.
During Sukkot, I was informed that Jews are supposed to build Sukkahs. This explanation of the Sukkah comes from jewfaq.org:
“In honor of the holiday’s historical significance, we are commanded to dwell in temporary shelters, as our ancestors did in the wilderness. The temporary shelter is referred to as a Sukkah. The commandment to ‘dwell’ in a Sukkah can be fulfilled by simply eating all of one’s meals there; however, if the weather, climate, and one’s health permit, one should spend as much time in the Sukkah as possible, including sleeping in it.”
Wise Temple built a small Sukkah in their main room and a much larger one outside the building:
After the service, people were encouraged to spend some time in the Sukkah. I would have dropped by, but I had Jesus in tow, and I wasn’t sure if the bouncers would let him in. Honestly, I didn’t want to do anything disrespectful. I was even afraid taking a picture would be rude. Maybe it was.
You can read more about Sukkot and the Sukkah at www.jewfaq.org.
The congregation was mostly older and all white. There were approximately one hundred people in attendance, and we gathered in a room that sat three times that. Some men wore Yarmulkes, but most did not.
At one point, we were asked to read a silent prayer from our prayer books. The prayer read, “My God, guard my tongue from evil and my lips from deceit. Help me to be silent in the face of contempt and humble in the presence of all.” After last week, it seemed like a fitting prayer.
The female rabbi (I hope they are called rabbettes) gave a short, but interesting message. She used a dialogical approach, which I have been advocating for in the church for a long time. By dialogical, I mean she basically had a conversation with the congregation. She asked questions, encouraged audience participation, and waited for answers. This interactive approach definitely engages the audience and keeps them more involved than if she lectured us for forty minutes.
She read from Ecclesiastes and then gave a brief history lesson on Jewish festivals. For a newcomer, it was super helpful. I felt like I walked away with a much greater understanding of Sukkot.
Her overall point was that there is a season for everything, and no season is better or more sacred than another. The Sukkah will be taken down soon. Like every season, it is temporary. Autumn has arrived in Cincinnati, but it will soon be winter, then spring, summer, and back to autumn.
Every season of life is similar. There are ups and downs. School, work, retirement. Single, dating, engaged, married. Childless, children, and empty-nesters. Brainstorming, writing, editing, and publishing. I could go on and on.
I believe the best way to live is to embrace and enjoy each stage of life. I also believe people become frustrated when they spend their whole lives impatiently waiting for the next stage.
You’re only in college once, so enjoy it. Stop racing to graduate. Someday, you will be married, and you’ll spend the rest of your life with that person (hopefully). So, for now, enjoy the dating process. Your child will never be five years old again, so make some lasting memories while you can. Think how much better life would be if we could just enjoy the moment.
This was an important slap across the face for me. I was losing steam on the experiment and was already looking forward to 2010’s 52 in 52 experience. That meant I could have easily gone through the motions and wasted the next three months. How sad would that have been?
I had twelve more churches to go, and I wanted to make each one count. Heck, I want to make today count. Stop worrying about tomorrow. Tomorrow has enough worries of its own. Today is life.
And speaking of life, here’s my last point. I loved going to church on Friday evening. It’s the perfect time for a church service. I left work at 4:00, so it’s not like I had to stop doing something exciting to attend. I got to the Temple at 6:15, participated in the service, and was home by 7:30. I still had the rest of my Friday night open, and I could enjoy the whole weekend without worrying about church.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner. It might be time to convert.
Until next time, Shabbat Shalom.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
